2002 Northwest Road Racing Preview

Series Begins To Take Shape

By Simon-Pierre
Smith

The preview of a race season should, by definition, come
before the first race. This technique leaves too much to chance. The first race
tells us whose sponsor came through, whose wounds healed, whose mechanic could
tune and not just talk, and who has maintained their velocity after a winter of
idleness. Even at the first race, riders can be on old machinery awaiting a new
steed, or busy debugging the bike they first saw a week before. So, with one
WMRRA and one OMMRA race under their belts, here's how the season is stacking
up.

The first factor to review is health. Alan
Schwen, current WMRRA champion, is finishing up a vigorous and successful round
of cancer treatments. It is a well known technique of the faster racers to
schedule serious illness during the off season. His first and third place
finishes on the SB Motorsports Suzuki SV650s show promise for when health and
weather improve. Mike Sullivan, always a strong finisher, is struggling with a
deteriorating hip but his increasingly awkward gait in the pits doesn't carry
over to the track. Six podium finishes, including a win out of six races so far, show his capabilities. John Dugan had severe knee injuries keeping him from
breaking into international competition in 2001. He seems properly healed this
year, pulling three wins in one day at Portland on his Eric Dorn prepared
machinery.

The next factor to review is machinery. Alan Schwen has
opted to stay on his highly refined SV650s. His early plans to campaign a GSXR
600 have been set aside. Canadian Oliver Jervis is riding for Dan Zlock this
year with a brace of ZX6, ZX7, & ZX9R Kawasakis. Zlock's Kawasakis have a
reputation for outrageous power. Jervis puts this to good use by getting two
podium finishes in superbike classes using street Pirellis. Barry Wressel, WMRRA
standing president, made a unique but effective choice of machines with the
Triumph Speed Triple. This brought him wins in 750 Superbike and Formula
Thunder. Is the Triumph a far better bike than many believe, or is Barry a
savagely fast rain rider? It will take a dry race day to answer that one, maybe
in September. Couple these wins to a victory on a Ducati 900ss and Mr. Wressel
shows up tied in the chase for the number one plate with none other than Tom
Wertman. Wertman, riding the Suzuki GSXR 600 and 750 machines he is accustomed
to, dominated with four victories in the Washington rain. This is a new level
for him. Last year he was there near the front, chasing the fast pack, but never
really forcing his way to the front. This year he's motoring away to easy wins.
Nobi Iso and Jonah Miller, riding the exotic and erratic Aprilia two stroke
bikes, are poised to dominate 125 and 250 GP. A recent trip to Thunder Hill
brought victory for Jonah and a lap record for Nobi. If they can keep them
running, they can keep them winning.

The third factor, and perhaps the most controlling, is
race schedule and organization. John Dugan and Alan Schmidt, always contenders
for the win, plan to attend a large number of AMA races. This leaves a lot of
zeros in their point totals when race days overlap. Mike Sullivan's hopped up
superbike ride failed to materialize after a mechanical failure in Daytona. He
plans to stay in the Northwest gathering points and prize money. Matt Zurbuchen,
who blazed out victories in Portland's 600cc classes, plans to only attend AMA
races that don't conflict. His race plan only includes Oregon, not Washington.
Some of this willingness to travel afar is fueled by OMRRA's new policy of
removing prize money from all but one class. Some worry this will cause the
faster riders to stay at home. One example of this is Mike McCullough, whose 600
Honda has gone where no F4 has gone before, into the money. It is worth noting
that the only class that does pay money, Formula Ultra, included only 9 riders.
This makes it the least populated race heat of the day, smaller even than the
chronically underrepresented 250 vintage class.

All that's left are the predictions. My guess, and it is
nothing more than that, is that Tom Wertman has good odds for the WMRRA #1
plate. He's shown consistency in the past and speed now. Mike Sullivan is the
other contender, based on a long history. If those two get in each other's way,
then the door is left open for Alan Schwen. Wressel's triumph is unlikely to be
up to snuff on a dry track. In Portland Zurbuchen, Sullivan, and Wertman will
be the battle to watch.

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